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Nick Laird

Utterly Monkey Paperback – 3 Jan. 2006

by Nick Laird (Author)

21 ratings

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Danny Williams didn't mean to be a lawyer, but somehow he is -- and for up to eighteen hours a day. He's well paid, home owning, and twenty-seven but is also overworked, lonely, and frequently stoned. The plan was to leave the troubles of a small town in Northern Ireland for the big city in England, but one evening an old school friend, Geordie, bursts into Danny's shiny new life. On the run from a Loyalist militia, Geordie brings everything Danny thought he had left behind and dumps it on his doorstep.

With infectious wit and energy to burn, Utterly Monkey is a searing, fiercely funny, and ultimately redemptive novel about surviving an office job, outwitting the bad guys, and, hopefully, getting the girl.

Print length

344 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial
Publication date

3 Jan. 2006
Dimensions

13.49 x 2.11 x 20.32 cm
ISBN-10

0060828366
ISBN-13

978-0060828363
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Product details

Publisher : Harper Perennial (3 Jan. 2006)
Language : English
Paperback : 344 pages
ISBN-10 : 0060828366
ISBN-13 : 978-0060828363
Dimensions : 13.49 x 2.11 x 20.32 cm

Customer reviews:
21 ratings

Product description

Review

"A blithe, breezy read that nevertheless delivers biting insight. Laird is certainly no slouch--but he wondrously understands the mindset."--Entertainment Weekly

"An utterly engaging modern social satire with an unpredictable, violent edge. ... An excellent exploration of modern relationships."--Library Journal

"A terrific debut novel. A beautifully intricate dissection of the corporate world, and a hilarious depiction of modern male friendships."--Time Out (London)

"An adventure into love and politics and the law. Laird's writing is deft, good-humoured and absorbing."--Frank McCourt

"An extraordinarily accomplished novel, by a confident and eloquent voice, filled with humour and insight."--Sunday Times (London)

"Combines humor and heart with subversive intelligence. ... Laird is funnier and edgier than (Nick) Hornby."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Part caper movie, part coming-of-age story, part urban satire ... introduces a wonderfully original and limber voice."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"The real thing, a novel rich in both achievement and promise, by a writer who can actually write."--The Times (London)

About the Author

Nick Laird was born in 1975 in Northern Ireland. He was a scholar at Cambridge University, and later spent a year at Harvard University as a visiting fellow. The author of To a Fault, a poetry collection, he has received several prestigious awards for both poetry and fiction, including the 2005 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.

Customer reviews

5 star		22%
4 star		41%
3 star		7%
2 star		22%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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Brett H

Creditable First Novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2012

I glanced through the reviews for Utterly Monkey just as I started reading, and at that point I wondered if I was making a mistake bothering at all. For a book to attract so many One Star reviews is unusual as most books have some redeeming features to lift them above the totally dire category. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I got reading and found this to be a very creditable first novel.

The plot centres on two childhood friends from Northern Ireland, Danny and Geordie. Danny is a lawyer in London and when Geordie is forced to leave Northern Ireland, he lands on Danny's doorstep. The book is set in 2004 and the political background in Ulster overshadows the plot. However, this is mainly a descriptive book and the story progresses at a relatively gentle pace in the background, although it does pick up pace for the last 30 pages or so when there is a fair amount of action.

The writing is pithy and witty and I found this quite enjoyable and easy to read without being a page turner.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

expatina

Why such bitter reviews?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2008

There seems to be a cabal against this humorous, entertaining book. Many of those who have submitted very negative, single-starred reviews seem not to have read it at all. I can only guess Nick Laird's made enemies for some reason. (Perhaps all these bad reviews are from some of the people who didn't get a book published that year?) I thought it was well-written, well-plotted, and, though a bit long and in parts laboured, an excellent first book.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

stevieby

More Monkey... than utterly anything

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2007

The dialogue and many of the scenes are well crafted and have merit, engaging at moments, but the plot bounces along and fails to get off the ground.

It could be one of those awful British romantic-comedies, but for the distasteful bits, while it lacked the sustained grit or any momentum to be a thriller.

If you have a passing interest in either childhood in troubled Northern Ireland or the life of a young modern-day London lawyer, then you might find this interesting, amusing even, but don't expect too much depth!

Is this the turn of London's Northern Irish community to be revealed in novel form? If so, it does few favours to anyone. Nick Laird is from the 'write about what you know' school, and will be a better writer when he is a little older, and knows a little more...

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Glinda the good witch

Entertaining, funny first novel.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2006

A novel revolving around Danny Williams, a disenchanted lawyer originally from Northern Ireland working in the City. A childhood friend, Geordie, turns up unexpectedly at his door one evening. The novel is set in both London and NI, and the characters are (I felt) spot on. I have read another review criticizing the figure of Ian, a shady loyalist. However, I felt that Ian was just right - nearly fundamentalist in some aspects, with a touch of self aggrandizement, and the overdeveloped gym torso of the thug/bully, the total more laughable than sinister. I also loved Danny's colleague in the office, Albert, who spends much of his time having his workdesk/computer/keyboard ergonomically tweaked, to pass the time and feed a neurosis. The character of Ellen I felt was the least interesting of all his characters. She is a colleague, beautiful, black and self-possessed. Given the similarities between Laird and his wife (the beautiful, black and no doubt self-possessed) Zadie Smith, much comment has been made about the semi-autobiographical nature of the work. Superficial similarities indeed - please don't expect to get deep character insights into the persona of Laird or Smith from this novel. It is more of a good yarn, well written and (for me) laugh-out-loud funny. (I rarely laugh out loud at novels, particularly ones described as laugh-out-loud funny) It's not the meaning of life, it's not the poetic beauty of an Ondaajte, but for all that, I'd read it again and recommend it to anyone wanting an entertaining diversion.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dana Robinson

An Entertaining Read and a Worthy First Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 September 2005

As Mr. Nick Laird is not defined by the woman he just happens to be married to (not unlike most of us), I shall endeavour to shy away from lumping him in with his wife and taking part in this blatant smear campaign as the previous 'reviewers' have done and review this book on merit alone.
An American by birth and a fan of Nick Hornby, I found Nick Laird's Utterly Monkey insightful, witty, and reminiscent of Hornby's work. Having never before read a contemporary work whereby Northern Ireland served as the backdrop, I was fully absorbed by Laird's ostensibly realistic depiction of the Troubles and Northern Irish culture.
The main character, Danny Williams, is a believable, sympathetic character. A young, jaded lawyer struggling to deal with his turbulent upbringing, a stark juxtaposition to the world in which he now lives, the corporate 'dog eat dog' world. Whilst I wouldn't term his journey as a 'coming of age', Nick Laird deftly orchestrates a journey of self. Danny must learn to reconcile his past with his present and his future. One of my biggest complaints; however, is that the reader is left to wonder if Danny had always felt this way about his 'upper middle class' life or if this discontent was triggered by the arrival of his childhood friend from Northern Ireland. Yet, even this small complaint does not overshadow the strengths of the book or the characters.
As a black woman, I had my doubts as to Laird's ability to 'write' a black woman but I found Ellen to be one of the strongest characters in the book. Her degree of composure at such a young age is questionable, but not impossible and it certainly does not detract from her strength of character. The dynamic behind her relationship with Danny and some of the conversations stemming from this caused me to laugh aloud on several occassions. This book is not without wit!
Laird is at his best when he writes Danny's relationship with his childhood friend, Geordie and the rough and tumble Geordie's relationship with Janice. The dialogue between Danny and Geordie really serves to give the reader an insight into why these two men from similiar background who have since gone very seperate ways, are still bound to each other. I think that Laird succeeds admirably in establishing that whilst these two men have taken different paths, at one point, Danny was Geordie and Geordie was Danny and in some ways, they are still very much the same person.
Anyway, not to give too much away (if I haven't already). This book is a delightful, entertaining read, I highly recommend it. With this being his first book, I have high hopes for this author and I look forward to his next work.

7 people found this helpful

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